erik lundegaard

Monday November 23, 2015

SLIDESHOW: The Suspect Training of Rocky Balboa


  • Slideshow: “Creed,” the latest installment in the 40-year cinematic history of Rocky Balboa, opens this week, and this time Rocky is the trainer. He's Mickey. (It's a living, not a waste of life.) The movie's been getting good notices, and so has Stallone reprising his iconic role. Some are even talking Oscar nomination for the former worldwide box office champ. But the following is a reminder that Rocky's training methods have never been what you'd call traditional. 

  • Yeah sure, running. That's easy.

  • But a raw egg diet? This led to a lot of dares in the 1970s. 

  • And pounding frozen slabs of beef in a meat locker can't be good for the hands. 

  • One-armed push-ups were big in the original, so for “Rocky II” they added one-armed pull-ups. 

  • Mick had Rock chasing chickens. 

  • And pounding junk at the junkyard. 

  • And doing whatever this is. 

  • At some point, it begins to feel cruel. 

  • To get back the eye of the tiger, Apollo made Rocky live with black people in LA in “Rocky III.” They also went for runs along the beach. 

  • And celebrated in the surf when Rocky's herky-jerky motions incomprehensibly beat Apollo's smooth strides.  

  • “Rocky IV' contrasts the suspect, chemically-engineered Ivan Drago with the naturalism of Rocky. It's the grandfatherly advice of training montages: Go outside and get some fresh air. 

  • And cut some wood while you‘re at it. 

  • Then do this. 

  • Mush.

  • A metaphor here. 

  • Rocky is the trainer in ”Rocky V,“ and, to his credit, he doesn’t force his protege, Tommy ”The Machine“ Gunn, to pull him on a bicycle. Instead, they do the iconic run through Philly's Italian market. 

  • For ”Rocky Balboa“ in 2006, Stallone gives us the greatest hits. He chugs eggs again for the first time since ”Rocky." 

  • And he pounds meat in the meat locker. 

  • But there are innovations. 

  • What training methods will Rocky suggest for Adonis Creed? We'll soon find out.  

  • Absolutely. *FIN*
Posted at 08:26 AM on Monday November 23, 2015 in category Movies  
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